Embroidery is a commonly used technique for providing an infinite variety of singly or multiply colored stitched pattern and pictorial enhancements to wearing apparel and other articles constructed of textiles and other lightweight materials. Embroidery involves the stitching of thread into a selected cloth substrate such as a coat, sweatshirt, sheet material, or the like. By appropriately choosing various threads having different colors and by carefully intermingling such stitched threads, patterns can be created which are extremely attractive, expensive in appearance and suitable for fashionable designer apparel.
With the development of readily available and sophisticated computing hardware and software for controlling embroidery equipment and machinery, the manufacture and production of such enhanced products has been automated whereby such articles are now produced at costs substantially reduced from those of articles previously produced without the benefit of such automation. One example of such system includes a sewing machine coupled to a computer. In operation, the computer is adapted to allow a user to select a pattern, and control the sewing machine for embroidering the pattern on an article. Support frames are commonly used to fix the article in place with respect to the sewing machine during embroidering.
In order to prepare an article for embroidery, the support frame may take the form of a pair of hoops which secure the article beneath the sewing heads of the sewing machine. Tubular hoops are traditionally comprised of a larger and a smaller close-loop section. The larger hoop is called the female hoop portion and is sized so as to frictionally receive in its inner diameter the smaller hoop, which is called the male portion. The hoops are used to secure and to stretch a portion of an article that is to be embroidered.
As is known, the portion of the article to be embroidered is placed between the male and female hoop portions. Once the portion of the article to be embroidered is properly framed by the hoop portions, the male hoop portion is seated within the female hoop portion, thereby catching a portion of the article between the inner diameter of the female hoop portion and the outer diameter of the male hoop portion. The article is retained between the hoop portions by the friction fit of the hoop portions, the magnitude of the friction force being enhanced by the added thickness of the article caught therebetween.
It is the practice of established embroidering methods to provide an attachment mechanism upon one of the hoop portions, generally the female hoop portion, so as to permit the hoop portions and the article secured therebetween, to be secured to the sewing machine for the embroidery operation.
However, a major problem exists in the use of such tubular hoops. Because the methods and devices heretofore used for positioning an article between the male and female hoop portions have been neither accurate nor precise, the number of flawed articles turned out by embroidery processes has been high. Quite often an article is improperly secured between the male and female hoop portions, resulting in the embroidery being in the wrong position or in being misaligned or skewed. As embroidery is for all intents and purposes permanent, each flawed article represents a loss to the embroiderer.
Another problem that exists in the process of using tubular hoops in the embroidery process is the amount of time necessary to properly secure an article between the male and female hoop portions. It is difficult and very time consuming to measure by hand the proper positioning and alignment for a hoop on an article. Moreover, when measuring by hand it is very easy to make a mistake. Placing the article between the hoops by sight is much faster, but results in far more mistakes and incurred cost. The problem with many of the devices of the prior art is that they incorporate far too many steps that are carried out by hand measurement or by sight alone. Not only does using the hooping devices of the prior art require too much time, but there is also a higher risk of error.
As set forth earlier, one common challenge associated with embroidering includes aligning a pattern on an article. If not done properly, the subject article may be rendered defective and undesired. Prior art FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary article including a shirt 100 having a pocket 102 thereon. During use, a support frame may be attached to the pocket 102. The support frame is in turn attached to a sewing machine which is capable of embroidering a pattern so that it is centered with respect to the support frame.
Prior art FIG. 2 illustrates a support frame 200 removably attached to the pocket 102 of the shirt 100 shown in FIG. 1. As is readily apparent, it is extremely important to center the support frame 200 on the pocket 102 to ensure that the pattern is later centered properly with respect to the pocket 102. This is often very difficult to accomplish since the support frame must be positioned on the pocket without knowing how the pattern will appear thereon. As a result, any slight rotation of the support frame 200 or deviation of the center of the support frame 200 with respect to the center of the pocket 102 will result in the pattern being misaligned.
Prior art FIG. 3 illustrates the pocket 102 with a pattern 300 embroidered after misalignment of the support frame 200. As shown, any slight change in the angle of rotation or center deviation results in misalignment. There is thus a need for an apparatus and method that facilitates the alignment of patterns on various articles, and further facilitates the overall embroidery process.